


His Solemn Duty Ending

by Skyeec2



Series: The World of a Crow [24]
Category: Bloodborne (Video Game), Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: An Ending, Angst, Bad End AU, Death, M/M, alternative ending, not good times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 19:08:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10770573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyeec2/pseuds/Skyeec2
Summary: Cloud awakens to an empty room and the sound of screams





	His Solemn Duty Ending

**Author's Note:**

> I'm almost finished with my AU! Yay!  
> Also a bad ending! Not so yay!  
> As always edited by @corrupted-spirit on Tumblr. Enjoy!

Cloud awoke to a silent room, momentarily forgetting where he was and why he was there. The room was dark enough that he could only see a few feet around him before his vision was obscured by shadows.

He couldn’t hear anything in the darkness surrounding him, so he assumed he was alone wherever he was.

He tried to lift himself from the ground to his feet but the sudden, sharp sparks of pain coursing through his form originating from his side stop him. Keeping him lying prone on the ground, panting heavily.

Now, he recalled why he was lying on the ground here.

He remembered the night’s events; from his return to Yharnam to the ascension to the Upper Cathedral Ward with Genesis. Speaking of Genesis, he wondered where the hunter had gone.

The last thing he remembered was the hunter crouching over him, sword ablaze, as he bled out on the floor. The other man should have been here, waiting for him to awake then instead of leaving Cloud to awaken, alone and confused on the floor.

He felt a moment of intense panic when he couldn’t find his mask

Cloud took deep, heavy breaths, preparing for the daunting task of pushing himself to his feet.

It took several minutes, and many false starts, before he managed to lift himself from the ground. Even if he only managed to remain so using the wall as a crutch to support himself.

His breath came in harsh pants, his effort to get to his feet leaving him breathless and gripping his side lightly. He tried to avoid putting too much pressure on his wounds, the area was tender and sensitive and sent sparks of pain up his side with each movement.

He stumbled his way along the wall, forcing his way out of the barely-opened ornate door of the building. The sight that met him caused his breath to hitch in his chest.

The world outside of the building was bathed in the light of the moon hanging from the sky, though it was unlike he had ever seen it. The moon seemed to have nearly tripled in size since he had last seen it as well as taking on a blood red hue.

There was still no sign of Genesis.

The stone ground before him was dyed red and soaked with a substance he couldn’t identify at that moment. There were numerous inhuman corpses, each the size of a newborn scattered outside of the gate surrounding the Orphanage, Cloud avoided looking at them as he staggered his way across the open-area.

Reaching the bridge connecting the Upper Cathedral Ward to the rest of Yharnam was a relief. He had almost lost his footing several times as he crossed to reach the bridge, he was glad to have something to lean against once again.

He continued to make his way across the bridge, hoping for a sign of his missing partner.

He was halfway across the large bridge when the sounds of screaming began to reach his ear, causing his steps to falter. The sounds were almost inhuman to his ears and seemed to drag on without end.

He continued to move forward, more cautiously than he had been moving before, weary of whatever was causing those noises. He wasn’t quite ready to fight anything at the current point in time.

He probably should have rested a bit more before leaving the Orphanage but he hadn’t known if the building had been safe for him to remain there for much longer. He also needed to find the missing hunter.

He continued to move, steps slowly becoming surer as he approached the door leading back down to Central Yharnam. All the while the screams continued to grow in volume.

He was able to stand on his own two feet reliably when he reached the door to Central Yharnam. The overwhelming scent of burning flesh assaulted his senses as he stepped inside, the screaming had taken on a near manic tone as more human voices joined the chaos.

He drew his blade as he descended from the Upper Cathedral Ward, ignoring the charred, twitching corpses he passed along the way. He tried to dispel the dread that was rising within him as he grew closer to the Chapel and the sound of wet sobbing joined the chorus of screams.

The stone floor under Cloud’s feet was still soaked with that unknown substance from further up, though Cloud had a suspicion that he knew what it was. The elevator leading down was missing but the operating contraption still worked, meaning Cloud only had to wait a few moments for the elevator to resurface instead of needing to find an alternative route down.

The dull sounds the elevator made as it ascended did little to dull the combined sounds of screaming and sobbing. Cloud steadied himself with a deep breath before stepping onto the elevator and descending into the Chapel.

The sounds only increased as the elevator lowered to the floor of the Chapel, echoing through the chamber of the elevator and setting his teeth on edge. The chamber opening up as the elevator reached its destination was a welcome relief.

The Chapel was the same as before they had ascended to the Upper Cathedral Ward; filled with the scent of burning incense and empty aside from the disfigured man that dwelled there. Speaking of the man; the wet, sobbing seemed to be coming from him.

Cloud approached the dweller, causing the man to flinch away at the sound of his footsteps.

“Please!” The man cried, flinging his arms over his face. “Please, just leave me alone!”

Cloud stared at the man for a few moments in stunned silence, listening to the man’s gross sobbing. What could have happened to have scared the man so?

A sudden, sharp scream from outside the Chapel drew his attention suddenly, causing him to turn towards the door of the Chapel and leave as quickly as he could.

The sounds of the screams drew him further into the narrow side streets of Central Yharnam, drawing him further and further into the city.

The streets were deserted around him and he passed numerous piles of burning bodies as he moved. The giant, red moon above him bathed the blood-soaked street in its light, adding an almost sinister feeling to the night.

The screams grew more manic and frequent as he moved through the streets, rapidly closing in on where he thought the screams were coming from. They sounded like they belonged to a woman.

The street suddenly open up to a large, paved courtyard connecting several streets together and Cloud froze at the horrid sight before him.

Several dismembered bodies lay strewn across the courtyard, many of them still smouldering on the ground. Directly across from him were two civilians cowering together as a blood-drenched figure continued to hack at a body on the ground.

The figure was not using an axe or any hunter-blade Cloud knew would be more suited to the task of taking apart a body, no, instead the figure was using a long sword, wreathed in flames. Genesis’ sword.

Cloud was stunned into inaction as he watched Genesis hack at the body, until the hunter’s patience wore thin and he reached down, planting a foot firmly on the body’s torso and wretched the destroyed limb from where it had stubbornly clung to the shoulder.

Genesis flung the arm away from him, the limb landing several feet away from the hunter. Genesis seemed to lose interest in the body then and turned his attention to the two terrified civilians.

Cloud couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Genesis!” He called out desperately, ignoring the pained, choked thing his voice had become. “Stop this, please!”

He thought that Genesis was going to ignore him, but the hunter turned to him sharply, giving the civilians a chance to escape. Genesis didn’t seem to notice the civilians make their escape, his attention was focused intently on Cloud.

Cloud saw Genesis’ mouth move but couldn’t hear the hunter’s words over the lingering sounds of screams and flames in the night.

The hunter seemed to take a stuttering step forward, before freezing in place and gripping his head with blood-stained hands dropping his sword in the process. Cloud watched as the hunter shook his head in a violent manner, his whole form shaking and nearly sending the hunter careening to the ground.

Cloud took a few steps forward, approaching Genesis’ shaking figure until he could speak to the other without shouting.

“Genesis,” his voice was far too weak for his liking. “What have you done here?” This close he could hear the soft mutters falling from the other’s mouth.

“No… Cloud… no, no… not here… dead… no, no, no… burn them… end them all…”

Cloud was stunned, his heart frozen in his chest at the man’s words. They confirmed what he had feared…

“Genesis, please –“ He started to say but Genesis cut him off with a shout.

“No!” Genesis screamed, flinching away from Cloud violently. “They deserve it! They want to destroy us?! I’ll take them with us!”

The hunter tried to take another step but was unable to stay stable and fell to his knees.

Cloud watched the form of his partner as Genesis’ shoulders shook with sobs. He approached Genesis hesitantly when he was sure the hunter wasn’t able to get to his weapon, lowering himself so that he could meet the other’s eyes.

Genesis didn’t meet his gaze, he didn’t seem to realise that Cloud was even there; his intelligent blue eyes were hazy with madness and wet with tears. Cloud took a deep breath and pulled Genesis into a strong embrace.

He held Genesis as the man shook with sobs, pressing the other’s head into his chest and holding back tears of his own.

He felt Genesis start to fight against him when he tightened his grip on him, trying to pull away from Cloud’s chest with a high-pitched whine. Cloud kept the hunter pressed to his chest and whispered an apology into Genesis’ hair.

A sharp sound of pain fell from Genesis’ mouth as Cloud plunged his blade into his chest, he tried to twist away from Cloud but he only twisted the blade imbedded in his chest.

Genesis’ movements began to lose strength as he lost the fight to remain alive, slumping further against Cloud as he bled out in his arms.

Cloud kept his grip on Genesis, feeling the once, strong hunter lost the strength in his limbs as his last few moments passed. He felt the wetness against his throat as Genesis tried to clear his airway of the liquid filling his lungs.

All the while he continued apologizing to him.

Genesis was dead within the span of five minutes.

Cloud remained there for hours, holding his partner’s corpse as it lost all warmth in his arms.

Eventually the sun started to rise and he moved, drawing his blade from Genesis’ chest and vacantly wiping the blade on his own cloak.

He needed to leave.

He laid Genesis’ body on the ground, finding his mask hidden in his jacket as he maneuvered him.

He lifted himself to his feet and with one last final apology, left the area.

If he was lucky, nobody would know that Genesis had fallen into insanity. They might attribute his death to the actions of a crazed townsfolk or another hunter, hopefully he could take the real reason for his partner’s death to his grave.

He managed to hold himself together until he returned home and was safely sequestered away from the waking city. He slumped on his bed and dropped his head into his hands, taking several shaky breaths.

He had needed to kill Genesis; the man had lost himself and had taken his blade to the people he had wanted to protect. Genesis would have hated himself and he would hate Cloud for not stopping him when he had the chance.

He had to do it.

If not him, then another Crow would have hunted him down and killed him. It was better that he had done it.

He had to do it.

Genesis had become a monster and that was the only thing he could have done for him.

He had to do it.

He had to.

He had to…


End file.
